It's Never Sunny on Halcandra
by DatCrownedProblemSolver
Summary: Iro the Halcandran learns that Mount Pigg, a volcano in Dangerous Dinner, may erupt and effect both Dangerous Dinner and Egg Engines, the latter being his hometown. All he has to comfort him is himself, his mother, and a rubber ducky. He is unable to help himself, and his rubber ducky can't help anyone...so all he has is his mother. However, he doesn't even realize this.
1. Chapter 1

"I am nothing but ugly. I am nothing but a coward. I am nothing but a fool who doesn't want to die from being consumed by lava. But that's what makes me a coward. Those words hurt so much...Does that mean it's the truth? People say that the truth hurts, so is it true?"

* * *

"Yes. Yes it is."

The young Halcandran boy pondered over these words that he had said to himself. Whenever he did, he always thought of it as truth. He sighed as his sadness overtook him again, as it always did each morning he awoke. He didn't feel lucky to live another day in Halcandra's current conditions; he just felt sad.

Halcandra was dangerous. Quite dangerous indeed. Volcanoes have erupted too many times, and most of Halcandra has lava in many places. Egg Engines, an area of mechanics and machines, was only somewhat farther from lava than any other places on Halcandra. Behind the many buildings of Egg Engines is a volcano in the Dangerous Dinner region. This volcano is dormant. But...It still has a chance to erupt. The Halcandran boy feared for this every day; if the volcano erupted, lava from Dangerous Dinner would slowly get to Egg Engines and destory many of it's machines and kill many of it's people.

He sighed sadly and went to see his parents in his small, one-story home.

"Mother?...Father?..." He called out. There was no response. He sighed and went upstairs to his room again, grabbed a rubber ducky of his, and floated back down. "Look's like it's just us again, Mr. Duckyface...I wonder how late they'll be today?" The boy asked the rubber ducky.

"Shut up, Iro!" The boy controlled the ducky to say. Iro, the boy, sighed sadly. "Well, fine. I'll shut up...You always want me to shut up." Iro put Mr. Duckyface on the couch and looked away from him.

He sat there with Mr. Duckyface for several minutes until he decided to get something to drink. He floated into the kitchen and opened a cupboard. He found a box of green tea bags and decided to brew some green tea for himself.

He played with his tall ears as he waited for his tea to brew; they were the only things that he could play with. Mr. Duckyface never wanted to play with anyone.

The water began to boil in it's kettle. The loud shout it made hurt his ears. "Okay, Mr. Kettle! You don't have to shout!" Iro yelled as he floated quickly to turn off the stove. "...How many times have I told you not to shout? If you do that one more time, I'm putting you in the time-out chair." Iro pointed to the old, red stool in the corner of the kitchen. This was the "time-out chair."

Iro put on an oven mitt and poured water into his cup. Now he had to wait even more. Oh, well. He waited patiently.

* * *

Whilst Iro was waiting, he heard a siren go off. It was the local volcano siren in the heart of Egg Engines. He had to cover his ears as the loud siren went off for two minutes to grab the attention of the people.

"..._The following is a message made at the request of the Halcandra Volcano Warning Center in Dangerous Dinner. This is a Volcano Advisory for the following locations...Dangerous Dinner and Egg Engines." _

Iro went into the living room, grabbed Mr. Duckyface and quickly exited the house to hear the message better.

"..._Numerous reports have said that a gas and water vapor plume was seen in satellite images of Mount Pigg, a volcano 45 miles north of Egg Engines. These reports have been confirmed by the Halcandra Volcano Warning Center and it's associates. This has been happening for several hours. Eruption is not immediately likely...However, if the volcano's unrest is increased, this advisory may be updated to a watch. Anyone living in Dangerous Dinner or Egg Engines should continue to monitor the situation, and be prepared to evacuate if eruption occurs. We will broadcast the next update in twelve hours...or sooner if necessary."_

The siren went off again at the end of the message. Then the siren stopped. Iro went into his house quickly.

"Oh, Mr. Duckyface, we're in trouble!" Iro yelled. "Mount Pigg will certainly erupt!"

Iro put Mr. Duckyface on his desk and plopped down on his bed. "...What do we do? I don't want to die like this...But I...I can't convince my parents to evacuate...Mr. Duckyface, I...I hate this planet. I only feel confident telling you, because if I were to tell anyone else...They'd call me a coward."

"Coward!" Iro controlled Mr. Duckyface to say.

"...I just don't want to die!" Iro yelled as he covered his eyes with his hands. "...What am I going to do?! Where am I going to go?! Mr. Duckyface, I'm freightened!"

"I'm a damn duck. Why are you asking me, you dumbass?" Iro controlled Mr. Duckyface to say. "You know how your parents are. They're like all of Halcandra; head-strong and picky. You can't convince your parents to leave."

"...You're right, Mr. Duckyface," Iro replied. He sat down to ponder to himself in sadness and worry. He hoped that his parents would be home early to talk about this.

* * *

Author's note time: Hello! This is Crowned speaking. First of all, I want to say thank you for reading this.

Secondly, I want to say that, to those of you who have read my story "Royal Highness..." This story is meant to replace "Royal Highness," which was deleted on my own accord. This story will hopefully make much more sense than "Royal Highness," and will hopefully be better in the end as well.

That is all. Thank you for reading!

* * *

DISCLAIMERS: I do not own Halcandra, Dangerous Dinner, or Egg Engines. Those places belong to Hal Laboratory and Nintendo.


	2. Chapter 2

Iro sat with Mr. Duckyface as he waited for his parents to get home. He didn't know what else to do during that time. He was too afraid to do anything but sit, thinking of what he was going to say to his parents. He occasionally got up to talk to Mr. Duckyface, but he still wouldn't budge until his parents got home. He continued checking on the status of the volcano online every couple of minutes. He was obsessed.

* * *

Eight hours passed, and Iro's mother and father got home.

"Mother! Father!" Iro yelled as he floated quickly to hug them. "Mother, Father, there's a Volcano Advisory. We have to be prepared-"

"Iro, calm down!" Iro's father said sternly. "It's probably nothing. You know how this planet is."

"But they said that-"

"Enough. Me and your mother just want to relax a bit when we get home. Is that a problem for you?"

Iro looked at the ground and shook his head. "No, sir."

"Good."

Iro's mother and father floated away with that, and Iro went back up to his room. He held Mr. Duckyface in his hands and cradled him softly, as if he was a baby. Mr. Duckyface never liked it when Iro did this.

"Iro, I'm not a baby!" Iro controlled Mr. Duckyface to say. "Do I look like I came out of your private parts?"

"...Mr. Duckyface, I just want to cuddle with someone..." Iro put Mr. Duckyface down and looked at him. "I have a feeling that my parents aren't gonna help me with this."

"Of course not!" Iro controlled Mr. Duckyface to yell. "You gotta help yourself, man. I'm going to sleep." Iro turned Mr. Duckyface over so he could fall asleep peacefully. Iro turned himself over as well. He hugged his pillow and continued to worry. He couldn't control that, and he wished that he could.

"_...What do I do if the volcano erupts? Do I stay? Do I leave? Where would I go? Who will take care of me?"_

Iro turned around, and looked over at Mr. Duckyface.

"...Mr. Duckyface...If I leave by myself, will you take care of me?" Iro asked his rubber ducky.

"No. You gotta help yourself," Iro controlled Mr. Duckyface to say. "Stupid Iro."

Iro sighed. "You're always like this."

"No duh," Iro controlled Mr. Duckyface to say. "Stupid Iro."

* * *

Four hours later, Iro was asleep with Mr. Duckyface. He held onto him tightly as he slept. He didn't want his only companion in this to run away from him.

The siren from before was heard again and Iro was woken up. He covered his ears as the siren whined for the people's attention. After a minute or so, it stopped. Iro left his hands off his ears and asked Mr. Duckyface to keep quiet.

"_...The following message is made at the resquest of the Halcandra Volcano Warning Center. So far, Mount Pigg has shown no signs of increased activity; however, it's activity has not decreased in any way. At this time, this is still a Volcano Advisory for Dangerous Dinner and Egg Engines. We will update again in the next twelve hours...Or sooner if needed."_

The siren whined again to signal the end of the message. Then it stopped, and everyone was allowed to go back to sleep.

"...It's good that it hasn't increased in activity," Iro whispered to Mr. Duckyface as he held him close.

"Shut up, Iro. I'm trying to sleep," Iro controlled Mr. Duckyface to say.

"If I shut up, can I cuddle with you?"

"...Whatever."

"Yay. Thank you, Mr. Duckyface."

And so, Iro cuddled with Mr. Duckyface and went back to sleep, knowing that he didn't have to worry until the next update on the situation.


	3. Chapter 3

Iro was awaken by a nightmare that he had about the Halcandrans and the Dreamlanders at war. This nightmare had come from jokes that people made of that situation, as if it were actually about to happen. Iro didn't want to know about what might happen between the Halcandrans and the Dreamlanders, so he was left in anticipation about this scenario.

Then again, Iro was gullible and easily tricked. That could all be a game for others to play out of boredom.

Whatever it was, and whatever it might be, he didn't want to know. Right now, he had to focus on the volcano.

It was about 7:00 AM when Iro woke up, which is around the time his parents would go to work. He was still a bit tired, and he wanted to sleep more. He shut his eyes, laid down on his stomach, and thought about certain little things as he tried to fall into slumber.

The bedroom door creaked open, and his mother floated in the room to give Iro a kiss before she went off to work. Before she could kiss his head, he turned around to face her and opened his eyes.

"Oh, Iro," his mother said to him. "I didn't know you were up. Did I wake you up?"

"No," Iro replied as he tried to keep his eyes open. "...I just woke up earlier than usual."

Iro's mother tucked him into his powder blue blanket and kissed him on the head. "You should sleep for a bit longer."

"...Okay, mother." Iro laid back down on his stomach again and closed his eyes.

"I love you, Iro," his mother said to him.

"I love you too, mother." Iro couldn't open his eyes anymore. He was quite tired. He heard the bedroom door close, and he fell back asleep.

* * *

About three hours later, Iro woke up and decided that was ready to get up. He looked over at Mr. Duckyface and smiled at him. He laid on his side and poked the rubber ducky.

"Good morning, Mr. Duckyface," Iro said to the ducky. Mr. Duckyface said nothing, and Iro assumed that he was still asleep. He gave the ducky a kiss on the head before getting up.

Iro floated to the kitchen and prepared some tea for himself. He sat down at the dining room table and relaxed a bit. "Good morning, Mr. Table," Iro said to the table. He looked down at the chair that he was sitting in. It was the chair that he usually sat in when he ate meals. "Good morning, Mr. Chair."

Iro looked over at the other chairs. He looked at the chair that his mother usually sat in. "Good morning, Mrs. Chair." He smiled at his mother's chair and looked over at his father's chair. "Good morning, Mr. Senior Chair." He smiled at all the chairs in the room, and he smiled at all the furniture inside the kitchen as well.

"Good morning, everyone!" Iro yelled. He took a sip of his tea afterwards.

* * *

At about 4:00 PM, Iro was cuddling with Mr. Duckyface when the siren started whining again.

"..._The following message has been transmitted at the request of the Halcandra Volcano Warning Center in Dangerous Dinner. This is a report on Mount Pigg's status. The gas and water vapor plume from the volcano has been reported to increase. This could be a sign of the volcano's increasing strength. For now, this is still a Volcano Advisory, but we all still need to be prepared for possible strengthening in Mount Pigg and to be prepared for evacuation if eruption is likely. We will update again in the next twelve hours...or sooner if necessary."_

Iro looked at Mr. Duckyface sadly and hugged him. "...I really hope we'll be okay, Mr. Duckyface."


	4. Chapter 4

Iro kept on worrying about the volcano. He cuddled with Mr. Duckyface as often as he could to prevent worry, but his worries never subsided. At about 6:00 PM, he was occasionally whimpering about what might happen.

"Mr. Duckyface...I cannot figure out anything!" Iro yelled. "It's so hard to think!"

"That's because you're easily distracted with your own self-hate and gay porn. Try again!" Iro repeatedly jabbed Mr. Duckyface's rubber beak into his stomach.

"Oww! Mr. Duckyface!"

"I didn't do nothing. I'm immobile; you're just using me as a weapon because you're too lazy to get a knife."

"Stop, Mr. Duckyface!" Iro yelled. He put the ducky down on a coffee table and started crying.

"...No. I have to stop crying..." Iro pulled himself up from the couch. He wiped his tears away, and looked back at Mr. Duckyface. "I'm sorry I snapped at you, Mr. Duckyface..."

"About time you apologized."

Iro plopped face-first on the couch again. "What do I do?"

"...You think. That's obvious."

Iro didn't consider it silly that he was talking to a rubber ducky about this. What with his parents at work, and not being able to find anyone else anyway, Iro took what he could get. But he couldn't think about that now. He had to think about what would happen in the event of volcanic eruption.

* * *

Iro sat there thinking hard about the plan. He wanted to somehow convince his parents to evacuate with him, but he knew that his parents weren't easy to convince in much of anything. If he could be able to evacuate with them, then that'd be wonderful. He'd be able to live in less fear in the situation if his parents were there with him. Iro purred at the thought of that.

"...I need to convince them," Iro said to himself. "I need to convince them to evacuate with me. They don't need to worry about the social stigma of being called "cowards..." If they were called cowards, then I'd defend them! Y-yes...I'll defend them...They need to stay safe. I want them to stay safe..."

"...Iro, you're going off-track. Come baaaack," Mr. Duckyface said.

"...What I mean is, I want them safe, and them being alive should mean so much more than being judged. So, I want to convince them to leave with me," Iro explained. "I just...really hope they listen. I mean, I'll be calm! I won't be scared like I was before...I promise."

"...You're promising to a rubber duck. Your life is SAD," Mr. Duckyface replied.

"Shush, Mr. Duckyface," Iro said. He got up and hugged the rubber ducky, spinning him around in his hands.

"Iro, I'm dizzy!"

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Mr. Duckyface." Iro pat Mr. Duckyface on the head and sat back down with him.

* * *

Authoress' note time: Hello, everyone! I am so sorry about the infrequent updates with this story. I promise that I'll begin to update this story every Tuesday and Thursday. Again, I am so sorry, and thank you for waiting!


	5. Chapter 5

A few hours later, Iro's parents came back home from work, and Iro sat down at the dining room table to talk to them about evacuation.

"...Mother, father...As you know, the volcano may erupt..." Iro began.

"I don't believe that it will," Iro's father interrupted. "And you shouldn't believe it either."

Iro sighed. He already knew that this was gonna be difficult. "...What happens if it does, though? What do we do then?"

"We stay."

"But we can't! We need to leave, for our safety..."

"We're safe enough here."

Iro's mother put her hands on the father's head. "Honey, can't we at least listen-"

"Don't tell me you believe it too," Iro's father interrupted. "Look, we're safe here. Egg Engines will be fine. The volcanoes we have never erupt when the "professionals" think they will."

And Iro's father got up and left with that, leaving Iro and his mother alone in the dining room.

"...Honey," Iro's mother began. "I understand that you're worried. I understand that you don't want us to be hurt."

Iro nodded his head in agreement. "...I just want you guys to stay safe..." Iro frowned and looked down at the table.

"Look at me, honey." Iro's mother put her hand on Iro's chin and raised up his head. "I know. I know that you want us safe...You don't want us to die. I don't want you or your father to die either."

Iro's mother started rubbing Iro's head gently. She also scratched him behind his ears, causing Iro to make an odd purring sound.

"...But...I don't want to see you so scared. I don't want you to worry about this as much as you are. Right now, you don't even have to worry. We only need to evacuate if necessary. And if we have to evacuate, then I'll leave. I'll be by your side." His mother smiled at Iro confidently.

"...I'm sorry..." Iro whispered.

"You don't have to be sorry."

Iro got up and hugged his mother. He purred audibly, and his mother enjoyed listening to his purrs. She rubbed his head more and rocked Iro back and forth as she hummed a Halcandran lullaby that Iro loved.

* * *

Authoress' note time: ...I'll be honest with you guys and say that I'm getting bored of this story. I'm never sure how to write it anymore.

Due to...sudden problems, I've noticed that my creativity in the Kirby fandom is terrible. I'm not sure how to be creative here due to it's constraints (such as no neon colors. I actually really like neon colors, but no one else does.) I feel as if I have failed everyone here, and I am sorry. Due to these issues, I have decided to take a break from the Kirby fandom for at least two months.

I will still update this story until it's finished in this hiatus, but I will not contribute to anything else Kirby-related, like my Family Matters story. I am super sorry for this inconvenience.

Once this hiatus is done, and once this story is done, I will be changing Iro drastically, in terms of appearance and certain other quirks. I am so sorry for this. I know that I pissed off a lot of people in my hiatus', but I really do need to take a hiatus now.

Thank you for reading, and I'll see you whenever I update and whenever I come back to the Kirby fandom.


	6. Chapter 6

Iro had fallen asleep whilst his mother cradled him. He woke up in his bed, and he rose himself up. He looked at the clock on his wall. It was around 11:30 P.M., from what Iro could tell.

He found a note on the desk beside him and turned on his lamp to read it.

**Iro, you fell asleep in my hands, so I put you in your bed. You must have been really tired, huh?**

**Anyways, I just thought I'd let you know what happened. I love you, my little baby! I'll see you tomorrow.**

**With love, your mother.**

Iro purred at the content of his mother's note. He turned off his lamp, put the note in a nearby drawer, and went back into bed.

"Mr. Duckyface, mother agreed to evacuating with me," Iro whispered to his rubber ducky. "...Father is still hesitant, though."

"Eh, you tried," Mr. Duckyface said. "Your mother loves you, so she's probably gonna evacuate with you anyways. I'm not sure about your father though."

"...Wait, do you mean you don't know if he loves me, or if he'll evacuate with me?" Iro asked.

"Both," Mr. Duckyface replied with a tone of amusement in his "voice."

"...Be quiet, Mr. Duckyface."

Iro pat Mr. Duckyface on the head and went to sleep, cuddling with him as he closed his eyes.

* * *

The next day, Iro awoke at his usual time: 10:00 A.M.. He woke up Mr. Duckyface...or tried to.

"Mr. Duckyfaaaaace," Iro chanted cheerfully.

"Noooooo," Mr. Duckyface chanted with a tired tone in his "voice."

"Get up, lazy-bones. Oversleeping isn't healthy."

"...I'm don't have bones. I'm a lazy-rubber."

"...Good point, Mr. Duckyface." Iro put his hands on his hips. "But you still need to wake up."

"Fine, fine..."

Iro picked up Mr. Duckyface and set him upright on the bed. He giggled as he did this, knowing that he won a battle against a sleepy rubber ducky.

He took Mr. Duckyface to the living room and set him down on the couch. After that, he floated to the kitchen to fix some tea, as was his usual routine written down and remembered in his mind.

"Mr. Duckyface, would you like tea?" Iro hollered out.

"...I can't drink things!" Mr. Duckyface "yelled" back. "Stupid Iro."

Iro didn't reply, and went back to making his tea. "I'm not stupid, I just care for you," he whispered to himself. "...Wait, no, I am stupid, but- never mind."

* * *

Iro sat down in the living room with Mr. Duckyface with a radio in his left hand and his cup of tea in the right hand.

"That radio only has Halcandran stations, Iro," Mr. Duckyface said. "I don't like Halcandran things. I don't even like Halcandran people."

"If you don't like Halcandran people, does that mean you don't like me?" Iro asked.

"Yep," Mr. Duckyface replied.

"Well, moving swiftly on, as much as I prefer it, I can't find the English-speaking station-exclusive radio, so you and I will have to make due with this."

"Look haaaarder."

"No. I really can't find it anywhere."

"Fine, but now I'm a pouty ducky."

"...I hate seeing you pouty, Mr. Duckyface."

"Then find the English radio!"

"I can't!"

"Then you'll have to make due with me being pouty."

Iro never did want to see Mr. Duckyface when he was pouty, so he floated upstairs to his room with the radio and his tea.

* * *

Iro turned on the radio and set it to a news station. He sat there, listening to the Halcandran radio for a few minutes. The Halcandran language was Iro's second language; Popstarian English was his first.

All that mattered to Iro at this time was news on Mount Pigg, and that's all that Iro was listening to the radio for. When the Halcandran anchormen started talking of it, Iro moved closer to the radio to hear it better.

After about seven minutes of news related to the volcano, Iro summed up what they were saying.

They were saying that a Volcano Advisory was still in effect, and that the gas and water vapor plume was increasing fast. They also said that a Volcano Watch could be possible in the next few days for Egg Engines and Dangerous Dinner.

Iro began worrying again, but then remembered what his mother said the night before. She didn't want him to worry, so he would try not to. Even so, it was difficult. He floated back downstairs and hugged Mr. Duckyface. "...I'm not sure if we're okay or not, Mr. Duckyface..."

* * *

Authoress' note time: Hello. I want to apologize for not updating this story on Tuesday. I was busy that day, and I was busy Wednesday as well. I will be adding both the chapters for this week today, and again, I apologize for lackluster updates. Thank you for reading and waiting.


	7. Chapter 7

"...Well, duh. We're near an erupting volcano, so of course we're not okay," Mr. Duckyface said.

"...Mr. Duckyface...Could you not tell me that? Mother said not to worry, and I don't want to worry, but hearing these things make me worry," Iro replied.

"...Then why did you listen to the radio?!" Mr. Duckyface yelled.

"Oh! That is a wonderful point to make. I'm sorry about that...I suppose it's okay, then. I'll just...try not to worry..."

"And you'll fail."

"Mr. Duckyface, now you're just hurting me." Iro frowned and whimpered due to the pain of his heart being broken into many pieces by Mr. Duckyface.

"...Then why do you keep me?!"

"Because you're my friend!"

Iro and Mr. Duckyface always bickered with each other. It was all part of the process, and Iro didn't mind. Mr. Duckyface was his friend, but he wondered if Mr. Duckyface felt like Iro was his friend.

"...Get new friends." Mr. Duckyface said this with a tone of poutyness in his "voice" and Iro set him down on the floor to be left alone.

"Okay...I'll just leave for now." Iro floated out the front door to float briskly in the streets of Egg Engines.

* * *

Iro saw Halcandrans of many different sizes and shapes whilst he floated through Egg Engines. Lots of them were mechanics, working outside in the hot air as they tended to machinery. Others were cleaning up the pathways, clearing dust and dirt out of the way, cleaning windows of houses and such without pay. Iro felt bad, as he had to tend to the house while his parents worked, so he couldn't help out in the community...But then again, if he had to tend to the house, why was he out, floating in Egg Engines?

"_...Well, Mr. Duckyface wouldn't be able to tend to the house on his own; he'd just invite other rubber duckies and have a ducky party, and he'd possibly drink all of my parent's wine,_" Iro thought to himself. Once he realized this, he turned around and floated back home.

"_Although, I might be a bit hard on him...Mr. Duckyface wouldn't do that. He knows that wine isn't good for him, and he knows that parties aren't allowed in the house." _Iro smiled, feeling somewhat comforted by this fact. He floated back to his house quickly.

* * *

"Mr. Duckyface!" Iro yelled as he went in the door. "I'm sorry! Did I hurt your ducky feelings?"

"What the heck are 'ducky feelings?!'" Mr. Duckyface yelled.

"...I don't know. But I'm sorry!"

"Whatever."

"...Do you forgive me?" Iro asked in worry. By now, he had already floated up the stairs to where he had set Mr. Duckyface down before.

"Do you need clarification?! Yes, I forgive you!"

"Yay!" Iro picked Mr. Duckyface up and hugged him tightly, rocking him back and forth in his hands. "...I think we'll be okay, Mr. Duckyface..."


	8. Chapter 8

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Mr. Duckyface said to Iro. "Put me down now, please."

"Oh, yes," Iro said, putting Mr. Duckyface down. "I'm sorry about our little argument. I love you."

"...No homo," Mr. Duckyface said.

"I don't mean like that! I mean like, as a parent would love their children."

"I'm not your child!"

"Well, I like treating you like my child, so too bad." Iro picked Mr. Duckyface up and cradled him in his hands.

"Nooo!" Mr. Duckyface yelled.

"Fine, fine." Iro put Mr. Duckyface down again. As Iro did so, the siren outside blared once more. Iro covered Mr. Duckyface's "ears" with his hands, sacrificing his own hearing...for about two minutes.

"_We bring you an update from the Halcandra Volcano Warning Center in Dangerous Dinner. This is a Volcano Watch for Dangerous Dinner and Egg Engines."_

Iro uncovered Mr. Duckyface's "ears" so that he could listen too. Iro thought that it'd be selfish not to let him hear anything.

"_...Mount Pigg's strength has been increasing rapidly, and it is becoming more and more possible that an eruption will occur. Authorities are setting up evacuation routes near Dangerous Dinner and Egg Engines in case eruption is likely, but for now, there is no immediate danger. Stay calm and control yourself through this. This Volcano Watch will last until further notice for Dangerous Dinner and Egg Engines."_

The siren blared to signal the end of the message for a minute, and then it stopped entirely.

"...Okay, Mr. Duckyface...We just have to stay calm, and we need to control ourselves..."

"...Yeah, don't go raping other men after the eruption. Control yourself," Mr. Duckyface said to Iro.

"Mr. Duckyface! I would never do that!" Iro yelled.

"What, you would never control yourself?"

Iro sighed in annoyance. "You're not taking this seriously, are you?"

"Hey, I'm just joking."

Iro went over and hugged Mr. Duckyface. "I know...We should probably learn where the evacuation route for Egg Engines is."

"Not now...I'm sleepy." Mr. Duckyface fell to Iro's lap and stayed there.

"You can't be sleepy now!" Iro picked him back up in his hands.

"Yes I can." Mr. Duckyface sled to Iro's lap again. "Naptime. Wake me up in an hour."

"...Oh, very well. I'll take a nap with you too." Iro grabbed a nearby blanket and a nearby pillow to sleep with. "...We'll only nap for an hour, okay?"

Mr. Duckyface didn't answer, so Iro presumed that he was already napping. "Have a nice nappy-nap, little Duckyface."

"That's _Mr_. Duckyface to you."

"Fine. Have a nice nappy-nap, _Mr__. _Duckyface." Iro pat the rubber ducky on the head and shut his eyes, sleeping on his back. Mr. Duckyface slept on his side beside Iro.

* * *

Later on, Iro was woken up by a loud banging noise. He wondered what it was for a minute, and then he realized that it was his parents, knocking on the door. He rushed quickly to the door and opened it. He had a look of worry on his face, his father had a look of anger on his face, and his mother had a look of concern on her face, most likely due to the father's anger.

"What took you so long?" Iro's father asked sternly.

"I'm sorry! Me and Mr. Duckyface were taking a nap!" Iro replied in haste. He bowed down in apology to his father, since he seemed most annoyed by this, and then he bowed to his mother.

"What if someone broke in? You need to stay awake and protect the house!"

Iro's father pulled Iro to his face by his Kelly green scarf. His father stared into Iro's eyes, which were the same bright color as his scarf.

"And stop treating that _toy_ like it's a living being." Iro's father floated away with that, going up into his room and shutting the door behind him.

Iro looked at his mother, and he still looked relatively worried. Iro's mother floated down to him. "I'm sorry about that, dear." She rubbed Iro's cheeks in a motherly fashion.

"...I'm fine..." Iro replied, glancing his eyes away from his mother.

"...I'm guessing that you know that there's a Volcano Watch now, right?" His mother asked, trying to look him in the eyes.

"...Yes." Iro looked down at the floor, trying not to let his anxiety show.

"Alright. Would you like to float with me to the evacuation route?"

"Okay..."

Iro's mother got up and held out her hand for Iro to hold.

"Wait...Can I bring Mr. Duckyface? I want him to know about the route too..and I don't trust father with him."

"Of course." Iro's mother smiled at him, and floated to a nearby chair. "Go and get him, and then we'll go."

* * *

"Mr. Duckyface!" Iro hollered.

"Whaaaat?" Mr. Duckyface asked.

Iro grabbed an azure-colored bag, which he used to keep Mr. Duckyface in when he took him places. "We're going to the evacuation route. Get in your little bag, please." Iro opened up the bag and held it down to Mr. Duckyface.

"Fine," Mr. Duckyface replied. Iro put him in the bag and left it open so that Mr. Duckyface could see what was around him.

"We're ready now, mother!" Iro hollered happily as he floated down the stairs.

"Okay!" His mother hollered back. She held her son's hand as she opened up the door and floated out.

* * *

They floated about three miles through the town, and then they got to the evacuation route. Many other Halcandrans were there as well, most likely learning the way too.

The evacuation route was marked by a big, red sign that had a volcano drawn on it, and then under the volcano was the words "Evacuation Route." There was another sign under the red sign, telling all evacuees to evacuate in a quick but calm and orderly manner. Under that sign was a sign telling about directions to the ships that would lead them to different places on Halcandra.

Iro's mother looked at her son quickly. He was holding onto Mr. Duckyface in a protective way.

"...Iro," his mother began. "...The older and stronger Halcandrans say that if the weaker Halcandrans have children, they, the parents, give their weaknesses to their children."

Iro looked at his mother. "What do you mean?"

His mother looked back at him. "I mean that...Well, I...I'm afraid of situations like this too. I try to hide it so much, yet there are times where it bursts out...Does that ever happen to you?"

"...Yes...But I still don't understand why you're saying this," Iro replied. He was certainly confused.

"What I want to say is that I'm sorry. Because of me, you have the weakness that I have, and you have the anxiety that I have."

Iro's mother went to her son and gave him a hug. "You're being such a good sport when it comes to this, though. Good job." She smiled at Iro, and all Iro could do was look at his mother.

"You're braver than I'll ever be."

"Don't say that. Otherwise, you're really gonna believe that you won't ever be brave...Iro...I'll say this much: I hate this planet, much like you do. I'm always in worry and stress, and it's worth nothing with all these volcanoes."

Iro's mother pointed to one of the ships that was scheduled to fly evacuees away. "Iro...Would you like to move to Popstar with me, if this volcano erupts?"

* * *

Authoress' note time: Hello! I'm sorry for not updating this chapter yesterday. I felt sick, but I feel better now, and Thursday's update should proceed as normal. Thank you for being patient and for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

Iro froze in surprise. He didn't know what to say, or what to do. "_Mother..._"

"...You really want to leave?" Iro asked.

"Well, don't you want to leave to?" his mother asked.

"Yes, but...Oh...If you wanna leave because I want to, then you don't have to..." Iro fiddled with his hands in nervousness. Again, he didn't know what to do. All he knew was that he wanted his mother to be happy, and he wanted her to make her own choices.

"It's not because you want to as well. It's because I really do want to leave...And if you want to leave, then I want you to make that choice. Leave, and never look back." Iro's mother rubbed Iro's head, making him purr a bit.

"I do want to leave...But what about father?"

"...He's the only one in our way. Iro, your father is one of the "Strong Halcandrans." One of the Halcandrans who doesn't believe that cowardice should exist here...I have a feeling he wouldn't want to evacuate with us."

Iro froze in surprise again. He looked down at the ground in sadness. "_...I had expected this, so why am I so surprised...?" _

"...Mother...I want him to be safe too," Iro whispered.

His mother frowned; she could tell that Iro was sad. She floated to him and gave him a big hug. "I know...I want him safe too. I still love your father very much. Believe me when I say that I want him to evacuate with us."

"I believe you." Iro hugged his mother too.

"...I'm just not sure if he'll evacuate with us, and...I'm not sure if I should leave with you without him or not."

"I understand. But I still want to convince him to evacuate with us."

Iro looked in his bag to make sure Mr. Duckyface was okay, and he was. Iro held onto him from the cloth of the bag.

"I know. I want to, too." Iro's mother held onto her son's hands. "We can try to convince him together...But that's all we can do. We can only try, and we can't force him. You know how he is." Iro's mother giggled a bit in a positive manner. Iro did not.

"...I just hope that he'll be okay with whatever he does."

"One thing that you probably don't know about your father is that he's _always_ okay with what he does. When his boss from work bosses him around, he's okay with that. I, of course, have to obey my boss just because we need money. But your father...Your father is just always okay with his stressful work."

"...I'm usually okay with what I do, too...Does that mean one of father's traits passed down to me?"

"Well, I'd imagine that you're less okay with being forced to do something over and over again than your father is; I would say that both of our traits passed down to you."

"Yay." Iro smiled at his mother, and she smiled back.

"Come on. We should probably get home now." Iro's mother held out her hand, and Iro held it.

"Okay."

All that Iro knew was that he'd have to work with his mother to convince his father to leave. All that he knew was that he'd have to hope that his father would say yes.


	10. Chapter 10

Iro and his mother floated home, and his mother began to prepare dinner. Iro had gone upstairs to his room to talk to Mr. Duckyface until dinner was prepared, and Iro's father was downstairs with Iro's mother, watching as she prepared dinner in the kitchen. He still had a stern look on his face, which concerned Iro's mother. She looked back at her husband whilst she waited for dinner to bake.

"...What's wrong, dear?" She asked. "You look so...angry."

"...You took Iro to the Evacuation Route. I know that you did," he replied, clenching his hands together. "Why are you so worried? It's not like the volcano will erupt."

"Well, dear, they keep on saying that it's becoming more and more possible for it to erupt, and-"

"Don't believe that. You know how it is. They say that the volcano's gonna erupt, our son gets worried, you get worried, it ends up not erupting, they withdraw their statements, and then you two end up embarrassing both yourselves and me."

What he said struck her heart like lightning. It took her by surprise, and it hurt her.

"...Why do you get so embarrassed, dear? It's just that we don't think like you do; we appreciate life! We _want _to live! Forgive us for being so concerned in such a dangerous situation!"

"Don't start with me," Iro's father said lowly. His wife stopped complaining to listen to what he had to say.

"...Had your fears been gone by the time we married, we wouldn't have such a weak son. I deem it as your fault, but only because of your weakness; you and I could start over, you know."

"What do you mean by that?" She asked with a tone of anger and annoyance in her voice.

"I mean that you and I could disown him and get rid of your fears and anxiety. Then we could have a new child. A _proper_ child."

Again, what he said took her by surprise; his words had a habit of doing that. She clenched her fists angrily. "I _refuse_," she said with emphasis. "Our child is perfect as he is."

She went back to preparing dinner, trying to ignore whatever her husband said next.

"...Alright, then." He floated upstairs and went into the master bedroom in an effort to calm himself.

* * *

Upstairs, Iro was listening to the argument that his mother and father were having. He wasn't able to hear most of it; he was only able to hear his mother's yells. He whimpered sadly.

"...Mr. Duckyface...What are they arguing about?" Iro asked.

"How do you expect me to know? I'm a duck." Mr. Duckyface replied with a tone of annoyance in his "voice."

Iro sighed. "I just hope mother's okay..."

"Of course she is!" Mr. Duckyface yelled. "She's stronger than you; she can handle a few yells from her husband."

"...That's very true, Mr. Duckyface. Mother is strong...Very strong indeed."

"...Momma's boy," Mr. Duckyface teased.

"Go to your time-out drawer, Mr. Duckyface," Iro replied.

"What did I do?"

Iro picked up Mr. Duckyface. "You acted mean." Iro put Mr. Duckyface in his "time-out chair" and floated back to his bed.


	11. Chapter 11

Iro's mother had finished preparing dinner for her family. She sighed sadly, as she was still angered by what her husband said to her before. She shook her head and tried to forget about it; hopefully her husband would apologize to her later.

She floated upstairs and knocked on Iro's bedroom door. "It's time to eat dinner, dear," she chanted happily, trying to hide her annoyance and anger.

Iro floated out of his bedroom, purring at the sight of his mother. She went down to Iro's level and nuzzled with him. "You go and eat, dear; me and your father will be down in a bit."

"Okay," Iro replied happily. He floated downstairs to the dinner table. "_...I hope that mother's okay..._"

Iro's mother knocked on the master bedroom's door. "...It's time to eat," she said, not as happily as when she told Iro.

"I'm not eating," Iro's father replied. He sounded tired.

"...Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes."

She waited for a bit to see if her husband would say anything else; he didn't say anything more.

"...Okay."

She floated back downstairs to the dinner table, leaving her husband behind.

* * *

"...Is father eating with us?" Iro asked.

"Not today; I think he's tired," Iro's mother replied, patting her son on the head.

"Okay..." Iro replied. He was still concerned for his mother, as he didn't know much about the argument that she and his father had.

Iro's mother noticed her son's worry. "What's wrong, dear?"

"Oh, nothing," Iro replied quickly, forming a smile on his face. "I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Iro nodded his head.

"Alright..." She left it at that, thinking that if Iro was worried about something, he didn't want to talk about it now. She assumed correctly; Iro really didn't want to talk about it now.

* * *

After dinner, Iro went back upstairs to his room and let Mr. Duckyface out of his "time-out drawer."

"It was dark in there!" Mr. Duckyface yelled.

Iro sighed. "I know, Mr. Duckyface."

"Well, at least I'm out now."

Iro hugged Mr. Duckyface and gave him a kiss on his head.

"No homo."

"Mr. Duckyface, I'm just loving you." Iro was quite annoyed by now.

"No homo!" Mr. Duckyface hollered worriedly.

"...I'm not loving you like that. I would love another Halcandran boy like that. You're just a friend to me and I'm loving you in a friendly way."

"...No friendly-homo!"

"Oh for crying out loud, Mr. Duckyface." Iro giggled. "Would you like to listen to the radio with me?"

"No, you're just gonna listen to things about the volcano. I'm bored of the volcano."

"What do you want to listen to, then?"

"The Ducky Channel."

"...There's no such thing as The Ducky Channel!"

"Fine, then. We'll listen to news about the boring volcano."

"News is news, even if it's boring." Iro picked up Mr. Duckyface and took him to the bed. He set him down and grabbed the radio on the shelf. "I hope we have good news today."


	12. Chapter 12

Iro was listening to the radio in a somewhat worried and somewhat happy manner. He could only hope there was good news for today.

There wasn't.

The siren outside blared a loud, low-pitched, worrying tone, interrupting the radio quickly. Iro turned down the volume on the radio as soon as the siren blared so that he could listen to whatever the siren had to say.

"_...The following message is transmitted at the request of the Halcandra Volcano Warning Center in Dangerous Dinner. This is a Volcano Warning for Dangerous Dinner and Egg Engines, lasting until further notice._"

Iro gasped, and looked around for Mr. Duckyface so that he could hug him. He found him and hugged him tightly, not caring if he was to complain. Iro was scared now. He needed Mr. Duckyface.

"_...Sources confirm that Mount Pigg is now showing signs of rapidly increasing strength, and may be ready to erupt in the next forty-eight hours. Mount Pigg is a very dangerous volcano, and it is capable of causing massive death and destruction to both Dangerous Dinner and Egg Engines. Effects are expected to be worse in Dangerous Dinner...But Egg Engines will still be effected, and destruction will be comparable to Dangerous Dinner's destruction in some areas of Egg Engines. The Halcandra Volcano Warning Center in Dangerous Dinner encourages residents of Dangerous Dinner and Egg Engines to evacuate soon; evacuation routes will take evacuees to Planet Popstar, as it is likely that most of Halcandra will be damaged in some way by the effects during and after eruption. Once again, this is a Volcano Warning for Dangerous Dinner and Egg Engines. Evacuate soon; residents who do not evacuate will face homelessness, great injury or death."_

The siren's end-of-message tone sounded, and then the siren stopped. The radio proceeded to play the same message, interrupting it's other broadcasts. Iro turned off the radio and sat down on the bed, still hugging Mr. Duckyface.

"...Iro, stop hugging me," Mr. Duckyface "said." Iro didn't respond.

"...Iro? Are you brain-dead? Can I throw a party?"

Iro took a deep breath to tell Mr. Duckyface that he was still alive.

"Oh, crap. You're still alive."

Iro looked at Mr. Duckyface with worry in his eyes. "...We're gonna be okay, Mr. Duckyface. We just have to...evacuate...Oh, I really hope mother's okay with evacuating..."

"Momma's boy."

"You take nothing serious, Mr. Duckyface!"

All went quiet after Iro yelled. Iro sighed sadly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"You snapped? I didn't hear any cricks in your body," Mr. Duckyface "replied" sarcastically.

"...Oh, hush." Iro giggled a bit, and he hugged Mr. Duckyface again. "We should let mother know that there's a Volcano Warning, though."

"Yeah, maybe we should. Dummy."

* * *

Iro's mother had heard the sirens as well, and she was floating to Iro's room to make sure he was okay. Iro floated out of his room and floated to his mother as she floated to find him. She hugged her son quickly.

"...It's okay, dear...We'll be okay," she said to Iro. She acted worried, more so than Iro was.

"Did you hear it too?" Iro asked, hugging his mother back.

"Yes...Dear, we need to convince your father to evacuate-"

"I'm not evacuating," Iro's father said to them. "I'm staying here."

Iro's mother looked up at her husband and broke up the hug with Iro to talk to him. Iro watched as she floated to his father.

"...Dear...I love you," she began, holding onto her husband's hands. "I don't want to lose you...We've been together for so many years, and...I can't imagine life without you. Please, ignore what other Halcandrans think and evacuate with us! This family needs you!"

At first, he said nothing. He let go of his wife's hands and looked at her. "...I don't need you. I don't need this family. I need to stay. And you know what, if this volcano erupts and I die, so be it. I don't really care."

"What do you mean you don't care?!" She yelled. "And why do you all of a sudden not care for this family?!"

Iro watched the argument with tears in his eyes. "_It's my fault,_" he thought to himself.

"...I want to start a new life. With you two gone, that might be possible. I asked you if you wanted to get rid of all your anxieties and start a new life with me, and you declined. Go ahead and evacuate, but I want no part in you and Iro's lives anymore."

Iro's father floated away as Iro's mother backed away, not sure of what to say or what to do. Iro had started crying, but he tried keeping his cries silent. He floated to his father quickly and gave him a hug. Iro's father was taken by surprise; he had forgotten how warm the hugs from his son were.

"...I love you..." Iro whispered. His father sighed and gave him a pat on the head.

"Can you at least give mother one more hug before we leave?" Iro asked him as he broke up the hug.

Iro's father looked at his wife and floated to her. He gave her one last hug as his son requested for him to do, and then he broke up the hug. "...Forget about me. Both of you. It'll be less painful that way."


	13. Chapter 13

Iro floated upstairs to his room, feeling sad, angry, and confused. He grabbed a bag to pack things in, but he didn't feel like packing now. He plopped the bag onto the bed and started crying. "F-father..."

He plopped onto the bed, landing face-first on the soft but still-uncomfortable bag. He crawled over to his pillow and bawled into it. "Mr. Duckyface...F-father's abandoning us...He's staying here on Halcandra, saying that he w-wants to start a new life for himself...I'm so confused! Were we not good enough for him?!"

Mr. Duckyface didn't say anything; he wasn't good in emotional situations. Iro held onto him tightly, not wanting to let him go. He continued to cry and bawl, and he wasn't even able to form words. He laid there, letting the thoughts in his head control him.

"_...I want to stay and die...I don't mind dying much now, but...Why am I still so afraid? Is it because of the pain of being submerged in lava? I'd imagine that it'd be rather quick but major...Gah, I'm such a weakling..._"

Iro's thoughts zoomed through his head, each thought following another. It gave him a headache, which only made him cry more. His eyelids started to hurt due to them being closed so tightly to keep his tears in.

He opened his eyes angrily, wanting to feel some form of strength in the form of controlling himself.

"_Keep quiet!_" He thought to himself, trying to stop the other thoughts from going through. "_I'm sick of this! This is why father wants a different son! I'm...I'M TOO WEAK!_"

Iro pulled the pillow over his face, hiding it from anyone who'd come in his room. He felt bad for being such a quiet person; right now he just wanted to yell and scream his feelings out. It was a shame that his parents never really tolerated yelling. For now, he was limited to his thoughts, yelling through his brain as he cried in pain.

He was left to cry for a few minutes before his mother came in. She floated to her son and hugged him tightly, taking him away from his pillow and his rubber ducky. "...Iro...We should take what your father said to heart and forget about him. If he cares so lowly about us, I see no point in crying over him."

Iro's mother's eyes were puffy and slightly red under the pink glow that they usually had. It was obvious that she had cried a bit as well.

"But I love him!" Iro replied, raising his voice slightly. He took a second to recognize the tone of his voice and then frowned again. "...I apologize for that. I just feel so...angry." He looked down at his body and avoided all eye contact with his mother. She was able to understand why he always looked away and always allowed it.

"...I love him too, dear. But...He's decided to leave us. For right now...All we should do is respect his decision and stay strong. We don't need him as much as you may think."

She hugged Iro again and started rocking him gently in her hands. "...Stay strong, my dear. It's all we can do now." She stopped hugging him and stood up. "I've already packed. I want you to pack anything you need to take...I'll meet you downstairs."

She floated out of Iro's room, leaving him alone to pack up his belongings. Iro looked at Mr. Duckyface and hugged him. "I'm sorry, Mr. Duckyface. You'll have to go in a crowded bag..." Iro said to the rubber ducky, putting him in the bag first. "I'll try to arrange the items so that they don't get in your way too much."

Mr. Duckyface said nothing.

* * *

Iro finished packing and floated downstairs to his mother. "...I-I'm ready..." He said to her.

"...Alright, dear. I'm gonna go talk to your father; would you like to talk to him with me?" She asked, knowing that this will be the last time Iro would talk to his father.

Iro thought about it for a second, and he realized that maybe he should talk to his father just one more time. "...Okay."

Iro floated back upstairs, holding his heavy bag with him. He waited for his mother to come up as well; he didn't want to face his father by himself.

His mother floated up with him and opened the door to the master bedroom. Iro's father was sitting on the bed with a tired, annoyed expression on his face. He didn't make any eye contact with either his wife or his son.

"...We're leaving soon," Iro's mother began. "We just thought that'd we say good bye one last time."

He looked up at his wife by then, waiting for what she had to say. Iro hid behind his mother anxiously. His father's eyes stared into his, and he looked away.

"...We understand that we've had troubles, and we understand that we've done nothing more than embarrass you. However...Your son and I worry about your safety. We want you to stay safe-"

"This volcano won't erupt," he grumbled. "Besides...If it does, I have ships to use to move away from the lava, courtesy of my workplace. Have fun evacuating in weakly-made ships, and again, please forget about me."

"...Fine, then. If you're so confident that you'll be safe, I'll skip that bit," Iro's mother replied. "We love you. You have no idea how much we love you, and you have no idea how sad we are to leave you behind. But...If you want nothing more than for us to be gone, we'll just have to accept that."

"I've prepared the divorce papers," Iro's father replied. "I can get married to someone else when this is over, correct?"

"Yes."

Iro's father nodded, and they stayed silent for a bit.

Iro floated up to his father, nervously at first, but as he floated closer he felt more confident to say what he had to say.

"...Father?" Iro asked.

"Yes, Iro?"

"...May I have one last hug?" Iro held out his hands as he shook a bit. He expected his father to say no and hurt his feelings.

Instead, he gave out a sigh and hugged his son for one last time.

"...Thank you." Iro held onto his father for as long as he could. "I love you..."

By then, Iro's father broke up the hug.

"P-please, stay safe..." Iro teared up again. He was going to miss his father so much. That, combined with the fact that he could feel his father's eyes glancing at his tears made him feel weak and sad again. He floated back to his mother quickly, leaving so many things that he wanted to say unsaid. He couldn't do it, and he'd prefer not to anyways. He didn't want to start any drama. Not now.

Iro's mother put her hand on her son's head, rubbing it gently as he cried. "...I suppose this is good bye."

"I suppose so," Iro's father replied. "Farewell."

"...Good bye, dear. We love you...Please, no matter what, stay safe..."

And they floated away with that as she started to tear up as well. The final good bye felt lackluster to her, but she knew that he wouldn't want to try again.

* * *

The two went through the evacuation route, and it was crowded and uncomfortable. Several big ships made to hold up to five-hundred Halcandrans at a time were made, which would only mean more crowdedness and annoyance.

They eventually got on a ship along with many, many other Halcandrans. Iro felt awkward in this; he couldn't help but feel like he was being judged for being weak, even though many other Halcandrans were evacuating with him as well. Iro's mother didn't seem to care for that and focused on her son. She stayed with him through the whole ride, rubbing his head and hugging him; anything she could do to have Iro happy, even for a minute, she would do. She wanted her son to forget about Halcandra as soon as possible.

Several hours passed, and a young child was heard yelling, "I see Popstar!"

Many other Halcandrans went up to the child's window and other windows near it, gazing at Popstar's beauty.

Iro's mother got up and encouraged her son to get up and see the planet from outer space as well. He got up, held his mother's hand, and went up to a window to see the planet.

Iro's mother looked at her son with a reassuring smile on her face. Her eyes were filled with tears, but these tears were made out of happiness. "...Isn't it beautiful?" She asked Iro.

Iro looked up at his mother and wiped the tears from her eyes away with his hand. "...Is this our new start?" He asked her.

That's when they both realized something. They were making a new start. Just like Iro's father was. They realized that they all wanted to he happy. And no matter what, no one should get in the way of that. Iro realized this and started tearing up, as he felt bad for getting in the way of his father's happiness.

His mother wiped the tears from Iro's eyes. "...Yes. Yes, it is."

* * *

**The end. **


End file.
